Perforating-tool for well-tubings.



G. H. GREGORY. PBRFORATING TOOL F011 WELL TUBINGS.

APPLICATION FILED $113.3. 1913. Patented 11131131, 1914.

COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPM c0,.w^snmu'roN. u. c.

CHARLES HENEBY GREGORY, 0F PORTERSVILLE, CALIFORNIA.

PERFORATINGr-TOOL FOR WELL-TUBINGS.

Speccation of Letters Patent.

Fatented Mar. 31, 19rd.

Application led March 3, 1913. Serial No. 751,888.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, CHARLES HENEBY GREGORY, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Portersville, in the county of Tulare, State ofCalifornia, have invented certain new and useful :improvements inPerforating-Tools for Vell-Tubings; and lf d0 hereby declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention,such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains tomake and use the same.

rThis invention relates to improvements in perforators for well tubing,and is especially designed for the object of forming apertures in thecasings of Artesian and oil wells, after the casings have been sunk, andin any desired position or positions relatively to the length thereof.

Another object of the invention is to provide such a tool that isdurable and simple in construction and operation, inexpensive tomanufacture, efficient in action, and a tool that can readily beattached toand operated with the usual forms of well riggings.

Another object of the invention is to provide a tool that can beexpanded or contracted in cross-sectional area to adapt itself forvarying sizes of tubings.

`With these and other objects in View, the invention consists of thenovel features of construction and in the combination and arrangement ofparts, as will be more fully described in the following specificationand particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

Tt will be obvious that various minor changes might be made in theconstruction and arrangement of parts without departing from the spiritof the invention and without sacrificing any of the Vital principlesthereof, and while the invention is not limited, therefore, to the exactdetails as shown and described, still for the purpose of a fulldisclosure reference is had to the accompanying drawings illustrating apractical embodiment of the invention, in which drawings like charactersdesignate the same parts in the several views, and in which- Figure l isa view in elevation of the improved perforating tool, partly broken awayat the left hand side tol show the disposition of one of the cutters inits guiding or retaining slot. Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional viewtaken along the plane of the line 2 2 of F l, and Fig, 3 is a transversesectional view taken along the plane of the line 8-3 of F ig. 1.

l designates a cylindrical head, having a downwardly projecting center'post 2, and an upwardly disposed nipple 3, threaded as at 4, to screwinto the lower drill jar (not shown) of a rope drilling well rigging, orto the boring stem of a boring rigging, or to any other' suitablesupporting spindle. The cylindrical head is provided with segmentalbores 5, four being shown in the drawings, in which are disposed hingepins 6, suspending the hinged vertical arms 7, preferably bowed orcurved outwardly longitudinally as shown, and formed at their upper endswith reduced tongues 8, adapted to seat in vertical slots 9 cut in thetool head, said tongues being apertured, as at l0, to receive the hingepins 6. The top surfaces of these tongues are rounded off, as shown indotted lines in F ig. l, to permit of the arms swinging on their hingepins, for the purpose of expanding or contracting the tool for use withtubing of a greater or smaller diameter, as hereinafter described. Thisexpansion and contraction may be accomplished in any suitable way, andin the drawings this has been shown simply by interposing washers l1,between the lower inside faces of the vertical arms and thecorresponding outer surfaces of the lower end of the center post, whichcenter post surfaces may be beveled as shown at 12 in the drawings, toincline inwardly and downwardly, to seat the beveled faces 13 of thevertical arms, or the inserted washers ll, as the case might be, thelower end of the center post and vertical arms being properly aperturedto receive the securing` bolts 14, for holding the arms rigid against.displacement, when the tool is in operation.

While the lower end of the center post and the vertical arms are shownas beveled to allow of the convenient bowing of the arms 7, still thisis not essential, nor is the exact contour of the arms essential,provided that they bulge outwardly, so that the upper and centralportion of the tool is of greater area in cross section that the lowerend, to permit of the arms being. swung outwardly or inwardly to adjustthe tool for tubings or casings of varying sizes. By this bulgingconstruction the surfaces 72l of the vertical arms are disposed outsideof the position of the lower end of the arms and beyond the cutters,hereinafter referred to, when lying in their inoperative positions, sothat the` tubing, the surfaces 7 acting as guiding means for the tool.V

15 designates the cutter members of which there may be a pluralitydependent upon the number of vertical arms 7, and the inner ends ofthese cutter members are disposed in vertical grooves 15a cut in thecenter post, and pivotally supported therein by the pivot pins 16passing through apertures 17 and 18 vformed in the cutter members andthe center post. The outer ends of the cutter members are guided invertical slots 19 cut in the arms 7, the upper edge surface of the slots19 limiting the upward movement to a predetermined position (shown inthe drawings as horizontal) and the slots being of suiiicient length toallow the cutters to incline downwardly in an inoperative position. Theouter ends of the cutters are preferably of triangular shape, formingthe upper cutting edge 20, the lower cutting edge 21, and theperforating point or punch 22.

The cutters may be operated in any suitable way to be moved into contactwith the inner periphery of the tubing, shown in the drawings ascomprising lines 23, connected at their lower ends as at 24 to thecutters, and passing up through the tubing, where they may becentralized and connected together to insure of the uniform elevation ofall of the cutters.

The drill jars, are not illustrated as they form no part of the presentinvention, eX- cepting in so far as they support my improved perforatingtool and impart a blow on the down stroke to cause the cutters to biteinto the tubing, instead of their usual function of jarring the bit.loose on the upstrolre. It is obvious, however, that my invention mightbe used on the end of a boring or other rod, which receives a series ofblows ora downward pressure to force the cutter points to punch throughthe casing and rip the saine to provide the required slots. lt will alsobe observed that the points 22 of the cutters, normally lie slightlyinside of the outer surfaces 7a of the bulged portions of the verticalarms, which surfaces act as guiding or centering means for the tool, andthe points 22 cannotybite into the tubing, or joints between thesections of the tubing, during the descent of the tool to the desiredposition within the tubing,

In operation, after the well tubing has been sunk tothe desired depth,the drill rod or line rigging is withdrawn and the perforating toolsubstituted for the drill or reamer, after which it is lowered to thedesired position in the tubing. When so positioned, an upward pull isthen directed on the lines 23, which will cause the points 22 of thecutters to impinge against the inner periphery, whereupon a series ofjars or great downward pressure is exerted Y upon the tool head, whenthe points 22 will Y bite into the inner periphery of the casing, andYthe points 22 and the upper and lower cutting edges 2O and 21conjointly operate to perforate, and `rip through the casing both in anupward and downward direction, owing to the wedge action of. thereversely inclining cutting edges, until the cutters reach theiruppermost positions, limited by lthetop edge surfaces of the slots 19,whereupon further downward impact or pressure on the tool will cause thelower cutting edges' 21 to further rip the tubing downwardly,

whereby any desired length of slots maybe formed in the tubing.

Then the ordinary ropedrilling rigging is employed, the upper jarmember,1strilr.Vv

ing the lower jar member in its [downward stroke, acts as a hammertoimpart to the Y rtool a series of impacts, the tool being secured tothe lower jar member, and the forcev of the blows being regulated by theplay or'V Y i jar between the jar members.-

The larger the tubing to Vbe `operated upon, the greater must be theexpansion of the arms 7, so that their surfaces 7a are sub- Y stantiallyguided by the inner wall of theV tubing, and the cutters Could be madelongitudinally adjustable tov compensate for" such expansion, but thisis hardly necessary,

as the triangular cutting edgesof thejcutters may have such a pitch asto project, in their uppermost position, a suflicient distance beyondthe surfaces 7a to penetrate throughV the thickness of thek tubing, orwhere tubing of a still greater diameter is to be perforated, longercutters maybe readily substituted for those already fitted to the tool.

For the purpose of simplicity of illustration, there has not been shownthe riggingl for holding the tool suspended in position within thecasing, and adapted to cause a series of downward blows or a greatdownward pressure on the tool, as it will be understood that suchrigging consists of ther ordinary forms, such as a rope drilling rig-Vging with its jar members, or other rigid suspending means such as rodsadapted to receive either a series of downward impacts,

or a constant downward pressure.

I understand that there have heretofore been used analogous perforatingtoolsfor well casings, and l do not claim broadlyV suoli a tool forcutting slots in Artesian and oil well casings, but

What I do claim, is':- i

1. ln a perforating tool for well tubings,

the combination of a support adapted to be Y suspended in said tubing ata predetermined positionA and to receive a series of downward blows or aconstant downward pres- Y sure, and said support consisting of a headblock and a downwardly disposed center post; a plurality of verticalarms, having bulging portions, hinged at their upper ends to said headblocks; means for adjusting said arms laterally to adapt same to tubingof varying diameters; a plurality of perforating members pivoted at oneof their ends to said center post, and at their other ends provided withperforating points operating adjacent said vertical arms; and means forcausing said perforating points to swing upwardly and engage saidtubing, while said tool is being driven downwardly by impact orpressure, substantially as described.

'2. In a perforating tool for well tubing, the combination of a supportadapted to be suspended in said tubing at a predetermined position andto receive a series of downward blows or a constant downward pressure,and said support embracing a head block and a downwardly disposed centerport; a plurality of vertically disposed guiding arms enveloping saidcenter post, and provided with elongated slots; means for adjusting saidarms laterally to adapt same to tubing of various diameters; a pluralityof perforating members pivotally supported at their inner ends on saidcenter post, said perforating members being provided at their outer endswith cutting edges merging into a perforating point; means for causingsaid perforating point to move upwardly into engagement with theinterior wall of said tubing, while said tool is being driven downwardlyby impact or pressure, the upward swing of said perforating membersbeing limited by the upper edge surfaces of said slots in said arms,substantially as described In testimony whereof, I aiiix my signature,in presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES I-IENERY GREGORY. Witnesses:

T. M. SLUssED, Ro'r. I-IonBAcrr.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing'the Commissioner of Iatents, Washington, I). C.

